Times they are a changing… 2 digital trends that will challenge how organisations’ manage relationships with their people in 2014 and beyond.

Times are changing, and the way we live our lives is, in some ways, dramatically different to just 5 years ago. To give an example, following the recent storms, and the loss of electricity, amongst the hardships people complained of was the loss of wifi. I, of course, acknowledge the point that Kirsty Alsop and others make, that losing your wifi or fridge freezer is nothing compared the hardships suffered by those who lived through the Blitz, or in today’s world, by Jordanian refugees.  The fact is, we live in a digital age, and, in my view, there are 2 emerging trends that will challenge organisations in 2014 and beyond.  How organisations’ respond to these challenges could significantly affect the level of commitment and engagement they are likely to promote amongst their workforce.   

 

The 2 trends, I predict will challenge organisations in 2014 and beyond are:

·       Online retailing

·       Social Media

Online retailing

Online retailing has dramatically changed the way we shop in the UK.  On Cyber Monday, 2013, VISA estimated that £450 million would be spent, with some 7.7 million transactions taking place, up 16 per cent on 2012, making December 2 the busiest day of the year for e-commerce. John Lewis expected 80,000 orders and Amazon 3.5 million.

Experian estimated that between 24 December and 26 December, some 45 million hours was spent shopping online. They predicted that Internet sales were worth £540m on Boxing Day.

By the end of December 2013, it was estimated that, the first time ever, there will have been three billion visits to retail websites in the UK in a single month.

It is naive to think none of this shopping will take place in work’s time.  The challenge we face, is to manage this new shopping trend, so it doesn’t spiral out of control.  While at the same time allowing internet access that is flexible enough to reflect the patterns of our current lifestyle.  It is possible, technologically, if not procedurally, to eradicate on-line shopping in the workplace.  However, the smart organisation will recognise, that such controls are unlikely to build commitment and engagement amongst its workforce. The challenge is to have internet access policies and procedures that prevent workplace “surfing” getting out of control, while avoiding the "own goal" of having a control system that prevents access to online services at the cost of disengaging and disempowering the workforce.

 Social Media

Facebook and LinkedIn are now an intrinsic part of our daily lives.  Most of us, our bosses, colleagues and our staff, have some presence on social media.  Social media has the potential to reach a very wide audience very quickly. This is reflected in the growth of employers using social media for recruitment. According to a recent survey by XpertHR 46% of employers use social media to recruit candidates.  All organisations want to enjoy the benefits of engaging with their customers, staff and other stakeholders that social media offers.  However, the reputational and commercial damage of poor publicity via social networks cannot be underestimated. Organisations’ need clear policies when managing staff interactions with social media.  This is important, not just as a point of reference if disciplinary action is required, but to reflect that fact that social media is an essential part of most modern organisations’ public profiles.  Every employee has the capacity to influence the public perception of their employer by how they engage with social media. However, there is a danger that the “baby can go out with the bathwater”.  How can an organisation generate engagement, commitment and innovation when its default position is to introduce controls rather than to generate commitment?

Furthermore, the landscape of social media is changing. According to recent research Facebook is not just on the slide, it is basically dead and buried amongst 16- to 18-year-olds in the UK.  Children and teenagers are increasingly communicating through newer contenders such as Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat  and WhatsApp. In 5 – 10 years’ time a new cohort of employees wont engage with Facebook or Linkedin, but through Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat and WhatsApp. The growth of these media will make it harder for organisations to monitor and control employee communications and interactions via social media.

There is now a group of hyper-connected, always-on employees who wind up spending time on work related activities outside of their work day commitments, thanks to the rise of mobile communications and smartphones.  They bring their work with them everywhere. They may check out Facebook or book a ticket for a gig in the afternoon, but may be working on a presentation or bid at 11.00pm at night. 

Consequently trying to restrict and control what and how employees’ communicate  via social media, rather than persuade and convince them of appropriate standards of behaviour, might be unproductive in the short term, and impossible in the long term.

The fact is that we are increasingly living our lives on the web. We are buying clothes, booking holidays, transferring funds, sharing our family photos, “liking” a recent restaurant, or to “letting off steam” about  colleagues, bosses or difficult customers.  This new way of life has the potential to eat in to employees’ works time, and to create negative publicity for the employer.  The temptation may be to eradicate it as a risk by creating firewalls and introducing controls and punitive rules.  However, the real challenge is to manage it in way that stops it being a major drain on organisational resources, reduces it potential for reputational and commercial risk, while enhancing its capacity to empower and engage staff.

Happy New Year from Sean McCann, the Managing Director of People Based Solutions. We are an HR consultancy specialising in HR Services and Support. If you would like to know more about how we can support your business during 2014 contact us at:

enquiries@peoplebasedsolutions.com

 

8 Rules for a great work’s Christmas night out

Most of us enjoy the work’s Christmas party. The fun, the banter, a chance to let your hair down and have a laugh and a joke with friends and colleagues.   But occasionally, after a few drinks, events can get out of control.  Staff can end up warding off unwanted sexual advances, alcohol-fuelled brawls can break out, near to the knuckle jokes and comments turn out to be discriminatory and offensive, and, to top it all, some employees may be too hung over, or embarrassed to come to work the next day!





Here’s 8 simple rules to help your Work’s Christmas party go with a swing, and finish with a smile, whether it is in a 5 star hotel, a city center restaurant, the local pub, or the company Board Room.

Rule #1 Company rules still apply no matter where you are, or how late it is. Inappropriate conduct can still be a disciplinary offence!

Rule #2 don't encourage excessive drinking. The fact you’ve supplied drinks, and possibly encouraged drinking may be used to excuse offensive behaviour by drunken employees.

Rule #3 don't encourage drink driving, in fact you must positively guard against it.  Where possible arrange alternative transport for those who want to drink.

Rule #4 remember your duty of care to staff.  Keep a watchful eye on those who've drank too much and may be vulnerable.

Rule #5  the use of any controlled drugs is an offence. Make it clear, it's gross misconduct, wherever it occurs.

Rule #6 avoid conversations about performance and careers. A drunken promise is still a promise!

Rule #7 make sure everyone can get home after the party's finished. Either provide transport or end the event before public transport stops. As a minimum make sure employees know to make arrangements to get home.

Rule #8 if the next day is a work day, for some or all staff,  be clear about your expectations regarding performance and attendance the next day.

This article has been posted by Sean McCann, the Managing Director of People Based Solutions an HR consultancy specialising in HR Services and Support. If you would like to know more about how we can help your organisation with its HR services, contact us at:

enquiries@peoplebasedsolutions.com

4 common responses to workplace conflict that can damage your business.



In my blog “The 6 Characteristics of the adaptable leader”, I note that the 4^th characteristic is that “They (adaptable leaders) deal with conflict and disagreement productively.”

Conflict cost money, it is drain on the business' resources.  It generates both direct and hidden costs:

·       Direct costs of conflict include absenteeism, lost productivity, and staff turnover

·       Hidden costs of conflict include spending time on people problems, which diverts time and energy away running the business.  It has been estimated that 20% of managers’ time can be taken up handling conflicts or differences.

When workplace conflict becomes a problem:

Workplace conflict becomes a problem when significant working relationships breakdown or become dysfunctional as a result of differences.  When this happens, we are faced with 2 choices:

1.     Transform the conflict, and find a creative resolution, or

2.     Adopt a primitive response, allowing the conflict to remain, intensify, or be ignored.  

Very often we choose the second approach.

3 Primitive Approaches to Conflict

At a primitive level, we are hardwired to respond to threats, real or imagined, in one of 3 ways:

·       Flight

·       Fight or

·       Freeze

Common responses to workplace conflict:

Flight: 

Avoiding conflict by removing ourselves from the situation, e.g. not answering calls or refusing to meet. Sometimes we may deny that a conflict exists, deferring to the other person, or obeying some-one in authority, even if we disagree.  This can produce "losers" on both sides.    The refusal to acknowledge the differences, or address the issues, usually results in nobody being satisfied with the outcome.

Fight:

Dealing with conflict aggressively, often blaming, attacking, and confronting others. This may create a "winner".  However, “winning” is at the expense of other people, and relationships, as the "victor’s" needs are met regardless of the impact on others.

Freeze:

Responding passively to conflict, trying to please the other people, agreeing to what they want.  In such cases, we may even repress our own wants, and blame ourselves for the problem. This is likely to create "losers", as we forgo our own needs, to meet the needs of others.

Passive Aggression:

Sometimes we may adopt a fourth, but equally unhelpful, response to conflict: “Passive Aggression”.  Passive aggressively, we may pretend to be OK with things, but adopt hostile and unhelpful behaviour behind the scenes.   This can result in issues never being addressed, which may leave us feeling disgruntled.  When this happens, we may bad mouth the company and, at worst, actively work against its interests.

An assertive approach to conflict:

Disagreements and differences of interests at work do not have to have to result in destructive workplace conflicts. It is widely acknowledged that being interpersonally skilled is more important than being “clever” when it comes to managing workplace relationships.   When faced with workplace conflict, we have the option to respond assertively, act calmly, acknowledging the other person and being respectful of their position, even if we don’t agree with it.  Assertively we can seek to meet our own needs, but at the same time be equally keen to help to meet the needs of others.  This response to workplace conflict can produce co called “win/win outcomes”, where differences are acknowledged, but energy is invested in finding a mutually satisfactory outcome.

This article has been posted by Sean McCann, the Managing Director of People Based Solutions an HR consultancy specialising in developing emotional intelligence at work, team building, and workplace conflict resolution. If you would like to know more about how we can help you develop an assertive approach to workplace differences by:

·       Ensuring your managers are skilled with people

·       Helping you to recruit people who have an assertive approach to conflict and difference

·       Helping you to develop a culture where differences are acknowledged and addressed courteously

·       Train your managers to handle conflict effectively

·       Delivering workplace mediation

Contact us at: enquiries@peoplebasedsolutions.com

Mindfulness: a simple and cost effective approach to deliver competitive advantage from your workforce

Mandy Church,

Principal at Effortless Breath

In a recent blog "Adaptable Leadership has the potential to deliver a 20% productivity increase from 76% of the workforce!". I stated that engaged employees are more productive, they have less absence, stay longer and have a positive attitude towards the organisation.  I went on to say they act as advocates, spreading the word that it is a good place to work in, and do business with.  I also said they gave “discretionary effort”, which can’t be forced or demanded, it can only be given willingly.

In this guest blog, Mandy Church, an Occupational Psychologist and mindfulness expert, explains how mindfulness can increase employee well-being and effectiveness.  These are two key factors in developing an engaged workforce.

 

 Mindfulness is being aware of, and living in, the present moment – appreciating ‘NOW’ for all it has to offer; all the sounds, smells, sights, tastes and sensations in the body that we are experiencing in this very moment. Quite simple you might say, but we humans have a tendency to live in our heads, ruminating over past mistakes, anticipating future problems, so much so, that much of our lives are lived on automatic pilot. Now whilst this may often be very useful (for example, allowing us to change gear in the car without having to consciously think about the required actions), it can become a problem when we are constantly in the past or the future. In truth, the only moment we have available to us is this one; we can’t change the past or predict the future. Regularly ‘dropping’ into the body can become a powerful tool to enable us to live more fulfilled lives.

Mindful meditation is all about allowing yourself space regularly throughout the day to check in with your body and mind, to see what is going on for you in this moment. With regular practice, this can become second nature; you will find yourself doing it without having to sit in a chair and close your eyes – you will do it without thinking (which is exactly the point!). It might be as simple as noticing shimmering raindrops on a spider’s web, being fully aware of the feeling of a warm mug of coffee as your hands caress it, or really hearing the birds singing when you are defrosting your windscreen. It’s all to do with feeling and sensing the present as it unfolds. This simple awareness can be extraordinarily grounding and liberating.

For me, mindfulness is a common ground between my two roles, that as an occupational psychologist, and as a yoga teacher. I was introduced to mindfulness through my yoga training, but immediately saw the value of this in my other line of work.

When people think of yoga, they may imagine people sitting crossed legged, eyes closes, silently meditating; and to some extent they would be correct; but when people think of the workplace, a group of employees sitting on chairs in a circle, quietly meditating is probably not the first thing that springs to mind – but more and more companies are realising the benefits of giving their staff the opportunity to do just that; Apple and Google being among these.

So, what is the justification for providing your staff with the opportunity to learn to become more mindful in their everyday lives? Well, there is growing evidence that the mindful individual is more self aware and accepting of their feelings and as such they have the capacity to manage negative emotion; thus your people will become more effective communicators and less affected when they encounter conflict. Blood pressure is reduced and memory improved, and mindfulness notably reduces stress, depression and anxiety.

Perhaps then, rather than asking yourself if you can justify allocating some of your over-stretched budget to training your staff to become more mindful, you might ask if you can afford not to.

This article was written by Mandy Church, a Yoga Teacher ,and the principle at Effortless Breath.  Mandy is also an Occupational Psychologist, and an Associate at People Based Solutions, an HR consultancy, specialising in conflict resolution, team working and Leadership Development.  If you want to know more about how mindfulness training can help unlock the potential of your workforce, contact us at: enquiries@peoplebasedsolutions.com

Adaptable Leadership has the potential to deliver a 20% productivity increase from 76% of the workforce!

In a recent blog, “the 6 Key Characteristics of the AdaptableLeader”, I stated that at People Based Solutions we believe there is no one right way to lead. 

I went on to say that leaders must adapt to the circumstances they find themselves in, and identify ways to inspire and motivate others.  I explained, there is a limit to what leaders can “demand”.  Money and job security may achieve perfunctory commitment, but that only engaged people have consummate commitment.  This cannot be bought it can only be inspired.  Consummate commitment creates discretionary effort, which I went on to say, is the true value added of leadership.  

Recent research suggests that there are two kinds of employee commitment, perfunctory commitment and consummate commitment.

·         Perfunctorily committed employees are driven by economic and career choices.

·         Consummately committed employees are driven by passion.

 

There is no question that perfunctorily committed employees work hard.  They give ’a fair days work for a fair day’s pay’.  It is not reasonable to criticise perfunctorily committed employees, as they deliver what is required of them.  Employees who are both perfunctorily and consummately committed, are engaged with the organisation. Engaged employees are fully involved in, and enthusiastic about, their work.  They act in ways that support the needs of the organisation, and contribute towards its success.

 
Research shows that engaged employees are more productive, they have less absence, stay longer and have a positive attitude towards the organisation.  They act as advocates, spreading the word that it is a good place to work in, and do business with.  Employees who have this level of affection for the organisation, are often deeply committed.   This commitment results in employees who ‘go the extra mile’, and show a strong desire to improve, by learning new or better ways of working.  The desire to go the extra-mile, not in return for something, such as pay or promotion, but because it is considered the right thing to do, is known as discretionary effort.   Discretionary effort can't be forced or bought, it can only be inspired.

At People Based Solutions we believe that “Adaptable Leaders” help create consummate commitment, which creates engagement, which, in turn, increases discretionary effort. Adaptable Leaders who inspire consummate commitment, which generates discretionary effort, are a true source of competitive advantage.

According to research by the Corporate Leadership Council:

·         Consummate commitment can increase discretionary efforts by 57%, which can, in turn, improve individual performance by 20%

·         Every 10% improvement in commitment increases employee effort (performance) by 6%

·         Every 10% increase in commitment decreases an employee’s probability leaving the organisation by 9%

 Further research suggests that in a typical workforce:

·         13% are highly disaffected

·         76% are “up for grabs”, neither fully committed or uncommitted

·         The remaining 11% are highly committed

That means 76% of the workforce have the potential, to become engaged.  This can increase their individual productivity by 20%.  That is why at People Based Solutions, we say discretionary effort is the value added of Adaptable Leadership.

 
This article has been posted by Sean McCann, the Managing Director of People Based Solutions, an HR consultancy specialising in Leadership Development. If you would like to know more about the Adaptable Leader Programme, either public courses or in house for your organisation contact us at:

enquiries@peoplebasedsolutions.com